Minnesota Supplemental App

Started by WiscoStudent
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
W

WiscoStudent

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
The Minnesota supplemental app has an entire section asking for orientation to dentistry, activities and honors, and work experience. This is literally the exact same stuff asked on AADSAS, but after the orientation to dentistry section they slip in..."Please comment on lessons learned and how these experiences influenced your decision to pursue a career in dentistry. Limit of 6000 characters."

The whole section is optional, and I am tempted to not fill it out as it will be the exact same info as in my AADSAS. Especially since my personal statement was basically structured exactly on that prompt.

Any thoughts?
 
WiscoStudent said:
The Minnesota supplemental app has an entire section asking for orientation to dentistry, activities and honors, and work experience. This is literally the exact same stuff asked on AADSAS, but after the orientation to dentistry section they slip in..."Please comment on lessons learned and how these experiences influenced your decision to pursue a career in dentistry. Limit of 6000 characters."

The whole section is optional, and I am tempted to not fill it out as it will be the exact same info as in my AADSAS. Especially since my personal statement was basically structured exactly on that prompt.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

THANK YOU! I feel exactly the same way. I've been asking myself, "Why do I have to fill this all out AGAIN?" It's so annoying. Are you sure those sections are optional? I have been putting off doing that secondary for like 2 weeks, not sure if I'm brave enough to leave it blank though. Anyone else?
 
Don't leave it blank. When you're competing against thousands of other applicants do you want to appear lazy?

The worst thing that could happen is they see you didn't do it an think just that. Best case scenario they don't care at all, but do you really want to play the odds? IMO take the 30 minutes and just write it.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
btw, don't freak out when you submit it and it completely screws up your formatting. the Minnesota supplemental deleted like half my punctuation and had some other problems too. I called and they said that they are aware but there is nothing we can do.
 
I called Minnesota, they want you to fill out all of the redundant information. And by all the redundant information, I mean the entire "Professional Experience" portion of AADSAS. Personally, I would rather stab my eyes out.
 
even all those statements? theres like a statement under the dental orientation and then ANOTHER in the statement section...do u have to fill them out? why cant they read my ps thats on the primary app...can i copy n paste it my ps? lol
 
If it is like last years all you need to do is copy and paste your experiences from AADSAS and add a little comment for each of them. It is not difficult. I am not sure why they do it that way but Minnesota has a unique interview format. The people who interview you do not know about your grades and DAT score. The admissions committee might forward the secondary to those interviewers. It actually seemed like a really good school and the people that interviewed me were REALLY nice.
 
Jenna2010 said:
If it is like last years all you need to do is copy and paste your experiences from AADSAS and add a little comment for each of them. It is not difficult. I am not sure why they do it that way but Minnesota has a unique interview format. The people who interview you do not know about your grades and DAT score. The admissions committee might forward the secondary to those interviewers. It actually seemed like a really good school and the people that interviewed me were REALLY nice.
Click to expand...

For me it was the hardest interview. Great school, no doubt.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
My boss did some interview training sessions and told me that the way Minnesota does their interviews is the most telling and revealing of candidates (when done right). I am not sure if that is true, but thankfully she told me that AFTER my interview. I guess I just got lucky but I felt like it was easier to tell stories about my life that show who I am and what my values are rather than list things off and get flustered for forgetting things. It really felt like a conversation.
 
I'd love to hear more about the MN interview!!! I heard that it's a lot of "tell me about a time when ______"
 
chippy said:
I'd love to hear more about the MN interview!!! I heard that it's a lot of "tell me about a time when ______"
Click to expand...

That is exactly how the entire interview was. It was things like... Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision to prioritize one thing over another. From your answer they can tell about your values and about your decision making thought process and also about your time management (depending on your answer).

I think the best advice I got about interviews is that it is not just what you say, it is also HOW you say it. The more genuine you are, the more likely the adcoms are to like you.

I applied to medical school a few years ago before I switched to dental. I practiced and practiced the answer of why I switched and how I know dentistry is really what I want to do. At one of my interviews, after going through my rehearsed answers and being so nervous (including the why did you switch question) one of my interviews interrupted another who was on an entirely different topic and said "Did you also apply to medical school this year?" I was so taken aback and did not expect that at all. My response was genuine and straightforward and it was a very simple "No" with a very confused look. That was the first time he smiled at me during the interview and the rest went very smoothly.

Sorry for the long story but I guess I just want to show you guys that the more you are honest and answer genuinely the more likely the interview will go well. I felt like the Minnesota format really helped me be myself and just talk. If you fit the school, you fit the school. If not, you are better off not going there.

Sorry again for the lengthy post.... I have too much free time and no hobbies.
 
Jenna2010 said:
That is exactly how the entire interview was. It was things like... Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision to prioritize one thing over another. From your answer they can tell about your values and about your decision making thought process and also about your time management (depending on your answer).

I think the best advice I got about interviews is that it is not just what you say, it is also HOW you say it. The more genuine you are, the more likely the adcoms are to like you.

I applied to medical school a few years ago before I switched to dental. I practiced and practiced the answer of why I switched and how I know dentistry is really what I want to do. At one of my interviews, after going through my rehearsed answers and being so nervous (including the why did you switch question) one of my interviews interrupted another who was on an entirely different topic and said "Did you also apply to medical school this year?" I was so taken aback and did not expect that at all. My response was genuine and straightforward and it was a very simple "No" with a very confused look. That was the first time he smiled at me during the interview and the rest went very smoothly.

Sorry for the long story but I guess I just want to show you guys that the more you are honest and answer genuinely the more likely the interview will go well. I felt like the Minnesota format really helped me be myself and just talk. If you fit the school, you fit the school. If not, you are better off not going there.

Sorry again for the lengthy post.... I have too much free time and no hobbies.
Click to expand...

No apologies necessary, I appreciate the info!
 
The interview was pretty tough, but I didn't think it was SUPER hard. The professors doing the interview want you to succeed and they are not there to put you in a position to fail. They have set questions to ask you and they do not deviate from those questions. They may ask you few more sub-questions to help get to the point.

The biggest thing that they want you to do is to set up your situation effectively, bring specific examples into your story about the steps you took to resolve the issue and then, at last they want you to tell the final outcome. At the interview, before you break away for your individual interview, they will tell you exactly what they want you to do when responding (I can't remember the exact step they give you, but it is very similar to what I explained above). MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THE EXACT STEPS THEY GIVE YOU! If you are effective in following those steps, you will get a great review from the two faculty members that are interviewing you.
 
Did everyone pretty much go to the 6000 limit for both of those statements? I'm still working on the diversity statement and its agonizing...
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

OncePreDent
$150M University of Minnesota dental school expansion
Replies
7
Views
1K
New_Vegas
New_Vegas
Mavis2003
Supplemental Questions from UPenn
Replies
3
Views
2K
Mavis2003
Mavis2003
0
Supplemental Questions for Upcoming Cycle
Replies
1
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Minnesota Discovering Dental School pipeline program
Replies
0
Views
1K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Ryxndek
University of Minnesota Class of 2031 Interview/Acceptance Thread
Replies
0
Views
108
Ryxndek
Ryxndek